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I don't think a coding interview can figure out if you can solve a complex business problem. It will show you if someone knows basic programming.

mlthoughts2018 6y ago
Not really. “Basic programming” - like little helper methods for linked lists or array & tree manipulation, algorithms like sorting or hash table implementations - is an activity that professional programmers do slowly and methodically, with the benefit of whatever references they want, and with no short term time pressure or anyone actively surveilling every part of their intermediate problem solving approach, and with no requirement to also simultaneously verbalize all those choices in a way that seems to meet the social expectations of a complete stranger who is evaluating you on murky criteria. It’s truly, truly nothing at all similar to the actual activity of “basic programming.” Highly skilled people will get flustered, forget basic facts, put their foot in their mouth, none of which has anything to do with whether they are skilled or unskilled at coding.
- marketingPro 6y ago
  That's what you consider basic programming? I was going to make sure they understood loops and maybe classes/methods. You can ask them data questions without needing to code on the spot. Which one of us is terrible at coming up with relevant interview questions? The guy who considers tree manipulation basic or the one who considers loops basic?
  - mlthoughts2018 6y ago
    I’ve never heard of any organization asking software interview questions about the basics of loops or classes. If you are asking that, it is very, very weird of you. Meanwhile asking about data structures and algorithms is an extremely ubiquitous industry standard for interviewing new grads and entry level programmers up through experienced veterans - and is practiced by nearly every tech company and tech recruiting agency under the sun. Your expression of surprise about this suggests you are not very aware of the tech industry or software hiring practices. But regardless, all the same issues would apply to asking about loops or classes that apply to asking about linked lists or sorting. In professional work, none of that is ever addressed in a time crunch with someone actively surveilling you and assessing intermediate explanations - so concluding someone is bad at coding from a poor interview performance is just flat wrong.
    - marketingPro 6y ago
      Ahh you are talking about job interviews, I'm talking about 200 or 300 level college classes. Both of my programming interviews had some tech questions but no white board coding. That said neither were exactly entry level.

mlthoughts2018 6y ago

Not really. “Basic programming” - like little helper methods for linked lists or array & tree manipulation, algorithms like sorting or hash table implementations - is an activity that professional programmers do slowly and methodically, with the benefit of whatever references they want, and with no short term time pressure or anyone actively surveilling every part of their intermediate problem solving approach, and with no requirement to also simultaneously verbalize all those choices in a way that seems to meet the social expectations of a complete stranger who is evaluating you on murky criteria. It’s truly, truly nothing at all similar to the actual activity of “basic programming.” Highly skilled people will get flustered, forget basic facts, put their foot in their mouth, none of which has anything to do with whether they are skilled or unskilled at coding.

marketingPro 6y ago
That's what you consider basic programming? I was going to make sure they understood loops and maybe classes/methods. You can ask them data questions without needing to code on the spot. Which one of us is terrible at coming up with relevant interview questions? The guy who considers tree manipulation basic or the one who considers loops basic?
- mlthoughts2018 6y ago
  I’ve never heard of any organization asking software interview questions about the basics of loops or classes. If you are asking that, it is very, very weird of you. Meanwhile asking about data structures and algorithms is an extremely ubiquitous industry standard for interviewing new grads and entry level programmers up through experienced veterans - and is practiced by nearly every tech company and tech recruiting agency under the sun. Your expression of surprise about this suggests you are not very aware of the tech industry or software hiring practices. But regardless, all the same issues would apply to asking about loops or classes that apply to asking about linked lists or sorting. In professional work, none of that is ever addressed in a time crunch with someone actively surveilling you and assessing intermediate explanations - so concluding someone is bad at coding from a poor interview performance is just flat wrong.
  - marketingPro 6y ago
    Ahh you are talking about job interviews, I'm talking about 200 or 300 level college classes. Both of my programming interviews had some tech questions but no white board coding. That said neither were exactly entry level.